


Love With Every Stranger

by orphan_account



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Dancing, F/F, Female Brian May, Female Freddie Mercury, Female John Deacon, Female Roger Taylor, Genderbending, Multi, Pastries, fem!queen, king!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 06:31:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20903183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Oh, this is stupid. This is so stupid.” Johanna kept whispering to herself.The mansion was gigantic, towering over her on top of the hill and adorned with glittering lights. Groups of people dressed in outrageously expensive looking gowns and suits were walking towards it, chattering happily between them.Johanna didn’t even know why she came here.





	Love With Every Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> PQW Day Six: Prompt: Masquerade

“Oh, this is stupid. This is so stupid.” Johanna kept whispering to herself. 

She swallowed hard, brushing down the tulle of her dress with shaking fingers and took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. 

The mansion was gigantic, towering over her on top of the hill and adorned with glittering lights. Groups of people dressed in outrageously expensive looking gowns and suits were walking towards it, chattering happily between them. 

Johanna didn’t even know why she came here. This was the elite of the society and she and her family just barely got by, not poor but by no means rich either but when she had gotten the invite, her mother had insisted she had to go, just in case she managed to wrap an upper class man around her finger. Her mother had spent far too much money on a her dress and she was still incredible underdressed compared to anyone else. 

She sighed again and squared her shoulders, scratching the little bit of confident she could find in her together and walked up the path towards the mansion, the invitation clutched in her hand. The mask she wore gave her at least somewhat of a feeling of security. 

The inside of it was even more impressive. a long hallway with statues, incredible artworks and expensive looking carpet lead her into a big ball room. The ceiling was decorated with deep red drapes and white roses between the crystal chandeliers. There were long tables filled with food and drinks Johanna had never seen before. 

People were standing in little groups, talking and some were dancing already as the room was filled with music. 

Not knowing what to do, Johanna approached the buffet and picked various cheeses to test them. She sighed at the taste, eyes fluttering shut. 

“I don’t think I have seen you around here before.” 

Johanna’s eyes snapped open and landed on a woman in a beautiful blush pink dress that was adorned with roses and delicate lace. Her face was hidden by a white and pink mask and framed by long blond strands, the rest was pulled back in an elaborate updo. 

“I think that is the idea behind the masks.” Johanna said. “To not know who the person beneath it is.”

The woman chuckled, picking a grape off the buffet and popped it into her mouth. 

“Oh, aren’t you just adorable? It’s a possibility to show off so of course nobody outright says who they are but if you just look a little bit closer, you can tell who is who. But you. You are new here.”

Johanna felt herself blush. Did she really stood out this much? She bit her lip and looked to the side, embarrassed. 

“Do you want to dance?” 

Her eyes snapped back to the woman. She was smiling at her and held out her hand for her. Johanna frowned, looking back and forth between her and the dancefloor. 

“Dance?” 

“Yes, do you know how to dance?” 

Johanna nodded and found herself pulled towards the dancefloor by the blonde. She was smaller than her by a few inches but still took the lead, easily guiding them into a waltz. She had never danced with a woman before but she thought it would feel weirder than this. When she danced with men, she often found herself stiff and awkward, careful to avoid too much eye contact to not let them get any improper thoughts. But with the blonde, she didn’t have that problem. She focused on getting her steps right, giggling when she was spinned around. 

“What am I supposed to call you?” Johanna asked between suppressed laughter. 

“Call me Rose for tonight, Butterfly.” 

“Butter- oh.” 

Johanna reached up to her mask, brushing over the butterfly wing on one side. Rose smiled and spun her again, faster this time and when she stumbled, she pulled her close against her to steady her. Their noses almost brushed against each other and she could feel her breathy laugh against her hot cheeks. 

“I’m sorry!” Johanna said, stepping back into the appropriate distance. 

Somebody hit her back and Rose moved them out of the way of the dancing couple as Johanna apologized over her shoulder. More couples had joined the dancefloor and it was getting rather crowded. They bumped into some more people until Rose grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd. 

She was giggling and didn’t let go of Johanna’s hand, leading her through the giant room until they were back at the buffet. 

“Let’s do something more fun!” 

“What do you have in mind?” 

Rose grinned and grabbed an empty plate from the buffet to pile various of the fragile looking pastries on it. 

“What are you doing?” Johanna whispered, checking if anyone was watching them. 

“I’m getting us some snacks. Come along!” 

She took her hand again and they made their way through the people. No one was paying them any attention. Rose was guiding her towards a door and Johanna threw a look over her shoulder. 

“Can- can we just leave or-?” 

“Don’t worry, sweet, I know the hostess, she won’t mind if we creep around a little bit.” 

Rose did stop shortly and gave the plate to Johanna to hold as she walked up to a tall woman in a dark blue and silver dress, a mask adorned with stars and dark curly hair and talked to her for a few moments before she came back to Johanna with her. 

“Butterfly, this is my dear friend Star.” 

Star smiled at her and took her hand to press a soft kiss to her knuckles that made Johanna blush and stutter out a greeting. Rose took the plate from her again and now a trio, they left the ballroom. 

Johanna was guided through more long hallways until they got to a room that looked more like a library. She could still faintly hear the music from the ballroom. It very obviously wasn’t the first time for Star and Rose to be here as they immediately went for an arrangement of chaise lounges. Both toed off their shoes and took a seat. 

“Come on.” 

Rose patted the spot next to her and Johanna hesitated for a second before getting her shoes off, too and settling down next to her. 

She wasn’t sure that this was what she was supposed to do at all. Even though she had never been to a masquerade ball before but she was pretty sure that she was actually supposed to be in the ballroom, talking and dancing with people instead of sneaking away with two women. They didn’t seem to be concerned about it at all, though, and Johanna would be lying if she said she wasn’t having fun. 

“Open up!” 

Johanna almost flinched when Rose suddenly lifted one of the pastries to her mouth. She was looking at her expectantly, her blue eyes twinkling. Johanna looked at Star out of the corner of her eye but she didn’t look like anything was wrong or weird and so he opened her mouth, letting Rose push the pastry in. Her fingers brushed over her lips and Johanna could see her smile growing wider before she had to turn away out of embarrassment. 

The pastry was delicious, soft and sweet. 

“Delicious, right?” 

Johanna nodded and was rewarded with another one being lifted to her lips. She didn’t hesitate this time, opening her mouth quickly. 

“Don’t hog them all, Rose. Let me have one, too.” 

Rose laughed and since Johanna was sitting in between them, she had to lean over her to feed Star the same way as her. Johanna leaned back to not be in her way but her shoulder brushed over her chest. 

“Do you know what would make this even better?” Rose asked as she leaned back. “Something to drink.” 

Star chuckled, her tongue darting out to get some leftover cream that clung to her lip. 

“Of course you would say that.” 

“I’m gonna find us something to drink.” Rose stated and got up, struggling a moment to put on her shoes again. “Don’t have too much fun without me!” 

Star waved after her and once she was gone, she turned towards Johanna with a soft smile. 

“I hope she wasn’t too forward with you. If it helps you in any way, I met her the same way. Went to a dance and she just assigned herself to me and we have been friends ever since.” 

She shifted and reached for the plate and Johanna held it out for her. Star picked the raspberry off it and offered it to her by holding it up to her mouth and Johanna took it almost without thinking, then she took a bite out of the pastry. 

“So, you’ve known each other for a while?” Johanna asked. 

“Yes, it’s been about four? Four years, I think.” 

They kept talking for a while and she learned that Star loved reading as much as Johanna did, if not more, and they exchanged the titles of their favorite books until Rose returned. 

She wasn’t alone, though. A woman in a royal purple gown that was adorned with gemstones across the top and left her shoulders bare. Her mask was in the shape of a cat. Both of them were carrying two bottles and some glasses. 

“I’m back, my lovelies and I bring you wine and Kitten!”

Johanna was introduced to their other friend, Kitten, as Rose poured them all a glass of red wine. It was rich and tasty and Johanna never had a glass this full before. Her mother always made sure her glasses were barely filled with wine or any alcohol and that she only had one. And while all three of her newfound companion seemed like upper class ladies, they didn’t seem to hold to any rules like that. Maybe it was the masks that gave them the courage to break some rules. 

“So you have never been to a ball?” Kitten asked. 

Johanna shook her head, taking another sip of her wine. She smiled, exposing very prominent teeth and gently patted her cheek. 

“Ah, darling, a shame! You’re such a delight to be around! Much better company than those boring idiots. You’ll have to attend these more often!” 

“I doubt I’ll be invited.” Johanna confessed. “I don’t even know I why I was invited to this one.” 

All three of them cooed at her then, telling her that she will be invited more often and fed her more pastry and wine. 

By the time they had finished two of the four bottles, Johanna was feeling warm, full and a bit dizzy. They had pushed two of the chaise lounges together but the backrests opposed to each other so they could easily see each other. Rose’s feet were tucked beneath Johanna’s dress skirt and she could feel them against her calves. 

Kitten was opening the next bottle and Rose’s arm wrapped around Johanna’s shoulders. Her fingers grazed over her upper arm, making her shiver a little bit. Rose was grinning at her, loose and tipsy. 

“Did you dance today?” Kitten wanted to know, reaching for Johanna’s glass to refill it for her.

“Yes! Butterfly and I did have a nice time on the dance floor!” 

But Star shook her hand and Kitten and Rose both gasped. 

“That won’t do! Come on!” 

Kitten pulled her and Johanna to her feet, Rose following them. She ended up in Kitten’s arms while Rose partnered up with Star. The music from the ballroom was faint but they could hear it and dance to it. They were giggling, missing steps and stumbling over their feet, squealing and trying not to fall. Johanna couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. She let out a screech that dissolved into a laugh when Kitten dipped her. She clung to her, face hurting from grinning. 

They stumbled back to the chaise lounges, falling onto them heavily. Johanna took a big gulp of her wine and so did Kitten as they watched Star and Rose dancing. Kitten leaned against her and Johanna hesitantly wrapped her arm around her shoulders. 

“I’m glad you came today.” 

“Me too.” 

Rose dipped Star and they tumbled to the ground with a cut-off scream and Johanna and Kitten both jumped to their feet, rushing to help them up again. None of them were hurt and they were still laughing. They settled down on the seats again, chatting happily and drinking. 

Johanna almost nodded off, head resting against Star’s shoulder. A warm hand shook her awake again and she blinked sleepily at the curly haired woman. 

“Seems like you’re done for the evening.” she said softly, one hand resting against Johanna’s cheek. 

The other two seemed to agree and helped Johanna into her shoes and led her back outside, their arms linked together. The night air was cold but refreshing and Johanna was surprised on how much time had passed. It hadn’t seemed like she had been here for so long. 

“Which one is your carriage?” Star asked. 

“Oh, I don’t have one. I walked here.” 

They stopped dead which caused Johanna to stumble. Confused, she looked at them. 

“You walked here?” Kitten repeated, sounding taken aback. 

She nodded and Rose shook her head. 

“We won’t let you walk home like this. You can take mine. I was staying with Kitten and Star anyway.”

Johanna tried to decline the offer but all three insisted and she eventually caved and let Rose lead her to a carriage. 

“Thank you for spending the evening with us.” Star said, her smile barely visible in the dim light. 

“No, thank you.” Johanna retorted. “I would have been terrible bored without you.” 

Rose smiled and grabbed her hand before leaning up to press a quick kiss to her lips. Johanna blushed but had no time to react in any way before Kitten and Star did the same.

“Safe travels, darling, and promise we’ll see you again.” 

She stuttered out a farewell as well before letting the driver help her into the carriage and set off, hiding her burning face. Still, she found herself smiling the whole ride home. 

**Author's Note:**

> My Tumblr is @deaky-disco-queen. Come say Hi :)


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